Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival Changeup & Free Mixtape

Q-Tip may or may not be cancelling, despite heavy promotion. But hey, a free mixtape sampler!

Don't believe the Twitter rumors you may have read in the last few days – seventh annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival is definitely happening! Though Q-Tip told fans via Twitter that he won't be attending, before doing an about-face and reassuring fans he would be. Confused yet?

A fourth wave of confirmed performers has been announced for the festival, set to run Monday, July 11th through Saturday, July, 16th. This premier weeklong all-ages event attracts over 20,000 fans to Brooklyn annually in a celebration of Hip-Hop music and culture.

Diamond District, A Tribe Called Quest's Ali Shaheed Muhammed, DJ Evil Dee and Mista Sinista have been added in the fourth wave of confirmed performers, adding to the festival's rich history of sets by iconic emcees such as De La Soul, Brand Nubian, KRS-One and Boot Camp Clik. This year's Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival is said to be headlined by Queens, New York MC/producer Q-Tip, but recent developments may suggest otherwise (see above link).

Billed as "Q-Tip & Friends," the longtime frontman for seminal 1990s Hip Hop group A Tribe Called Quest is expected be joined by surprise guests for a performance on July 16th in Brooklyn, New York's Dumbo section. Organizers Brooklyn Bodega are said to be working closely with Q-Tip to create creative programming for this year’s Festival. Not just a headliner, Q-Tip will work with Brooklyn Bodega to curate “Q-Tip & Friends,” a celebration of Hip-Hop through the lens of his 20+ year career. If he still shows, that is.

Q-Tip embodies the mission of The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival and Brooklyn Bodega: highlighting Hip-Hop’s legacy as an agent of artistic progression, community building and social change. As an artist, MC and producer, Q-Tip is Hip-Hop with a career that connects generations of fans as well as artists. In addition to work on an upcoming album for Esperanza Spalding, Q-Tip is also the subject of theatrical documentary Beats Rhymes & Life on his days with ATCQ.

Other performers at the seventh annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival will include Homeboy Sandman, Toronto, Ontario MCs Eternia and Shad. New York duo M.O.P. (aka Mash Out Posse) has been added to the lineup, as well as Brooklyn MC Torae. Last year, Torae, who has released albums with Duck Down, Soulspazm and Fat Beats Records, was a master of ceremonies and served as event host.

J-Live, Ali Shaheed Muhammed, Da Beatminerz' DJ Evil Dee, the X-Ecutionerz' Mista Sinista and Diamond District have also been added to this year's lineup. Diamond District and Evil Dee were both part of last year's Saturday performers. Ali, a member of a A Tribe Called Quest, will likely join the "Q-Tip and Friends…" headlining segment of the show.

The festival has also dropped a free mixtape through iTunes for you to get into the mood with (download here). Check out the tracklist below: